Lucky Lekgwathi would have done exactly what Orlando Pirates captain Innocent Maela did during the Soweto derby against archrivals Kaizer Chiefs at the weekend.
The retired Orlando Pirates skipper was referring to an incident when Maela tackled and tripped Chiefs speedy forward Christian Saile, who was en route to goals.
Chiefs won the match 1-0 via an own goal from Olisa Ndah.
Sensing a goal, Maela lunged himself onto the Congolese striker and the referee, Abongile Tom, pulled out a red card and sent the Bucs defender out for an early shower.
Even the Bucs followers and players did not dispute the referee’s decision.
“I think Maela showed true qualities of a leader,” Lekgwathi told Sunday World on Tuesday.
“I was captain of Pirates for 14 years and I know what it means to sacrifice for the club. I would have done the same if I was in his position.
“The team is more important than an individual, and that free-kick afterwards did not result in a goal. If he allowed the striker to go through, he [Saile] would have probably scored.”
Lekgwathi explained further: “But I would have tried to do it cleverly and go for both the ball and the player, so that at least I get a yellow card, not a red card.
“But you need experience to be able to pull that off. I have been in such situations where I had to sacrifice myself for the benefit of the team – and most of the time we won those matches.
“Pirates were unlucky, because they ended up playing for a long time with 10 men. They held on until a mistake late into the game.”
Besides the red-card incident, Lekgwathi said he enjoyed the atmosphere at the stadium even though the match was not top-notch.
“Some of the team selections were questionable. I am not sure [why] Terrence Dzukamanje started ahead of Kermit Erasmus.
“Erasmus has played in many derbies and he did well. I still do not understand why he was left out on the bench.”
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